


A Forgotten Promise

by Fenrys_Writer



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Blood, Boys Kissing, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mild Gore, Mild Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-10-27 04:56:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20754692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fenrys_Writer/pseuds/Fenrys_Writer
Summary: After Byleth falls off the cliff during the battle for Garreg Mach, she isn’t seen for five years. When she’s finally pulled out of a river by a villager, she awakens with almost no memory. Only with the name Garreg Mach in her head, she heads towards the old monastery.





	1. A Lost Memory

“Are you okay miss?” a voice said to her. Byleth could barely hear it, her mind a blank. She felt someone push on her arm so she opened her eyes. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the light and when she finally could see, an old man was looking down at her with concern.

“You okay miss? I found you floating along the river,” he asked. Byleth slowly sat up while rubbing her head, it hurt like hell. She could barely process the words the old man spoke. Floating down a river? Why was she doing that? In fact, where was she and who was she exactly? Byleth didn’t have an answers, but she knew she couldn’t remember much. Whenever she tried hard to think about her past, a film seemed to be covering her brain and repressing her memories.

“What year is it?” She groaned. If she knew what year it was, maybe she could remember something.

“It’s 1185 right now, the Ethereal Moon, why did you ask?” He questioned her. He was probably wondering how the year could escape her, and Byleth was wondering the same thing. The year didn’t ring a bell, at least not the specifications of the year, but one word popped into her mind. Garreg Mach. It was only when the old man reacted to her words did she realize she spoke them aloud.

“Garreg Mach? You mean the ruined monastery?”

“Ruined? What do you mean?” This intrigued Byleth. Apparently Garreg Mach was a well known place, however it had been in ruins.

“Have you been living under a rock or something? Ever since it was invaded by the Empire it’s been a place that only bandits stay,”

Bandits. Was Byleth a bandit? She didn’t remember anything like that. In fact, looking at her outfit, she looked more like a knight then a bandit. Either way, she was desperate to know why she remembered that place so fondly.

“Where is it?” Byleth asked.

“Well, this village is nearby. It’s nested in the mountains near by here, but why are you-“ before he could finish his sentence, Byleth headed off towards the monastery. Strangely, she ran easily, even with the armor and sword she was carrying. In fact, a sword didn’t look out of place on her, if anything, she wanted to practice swinging it around.

It took her a few hours to finally find a path on the mountains heading up. When she looked up, she saw a large castle like building sitting on top one of the mountains. Surrounding it looked to be a destroyed town, she could barely make out collapsed buildings sitting at edge of the monastery. She slowly walked up the path of the monastery. The stone steps were all cracked and falling apart, the grass nearby was growing weakly, and there seemed to be an extreme lack of animals wandering the area. She looked up at the sky and something foreboding seemed to be lurking above them, ready to pounce on her.

Claude was currently sitting among the rubble in the monastery, remembering his time at the Officer’s Academy. He remembered all the times he had picked on Lysithea, all the battles he fought through, and all the times he was reprimanded by Byleth. Byleth, he remembered her fondly, he had a small crush on her back when he was her student. Of course, most of the boys in the monastery found her sexy, but Claude liked her for more than just that. Even if she seemed unemotional, he could tell she really cared for her students.

He loved playing around with her, playing pranks and getting on her nerves, but now he couldn’t do that anymore. She was gone, no trace of her remained. He had tried his best to find her, but with the never ending soldier and Hilda urging him to retreat, he reluctantly fled. He didn’t know whether she was dead or not, Edelgard never made the claim, and he could guess that she wasn’t a prisoner of war either. Then what had happened to her? He didn’t think she would leave, that was unlike her.

He was now sitting here, waiting for all his old classmates to meet up here. They promised five years ago that they would all come back during the festival, and even with the monastery in ruin, he believed they would honor their promise. Also, deep inside him, he hoped Byleth would appear. If he could see her again, he would be overjoyed. If he was able to hear her reprimanding voice or stroke through her hair once more, he could live happier than he had for the past five years.


	2. Approaching the Monastery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the Golden Deer head out to the monastery for their promised reunion, however what’s waiting for them is even more shocking for them to remember.

“Leonie, how much longer?” Hilda whined. She currently had her arms wrapped around Leonie’s waist and was laying her head on her back. Leonie had shrugged Hilda off multiple times before, but she continuously fell right back into her current position so Leonie had given up on fighting it. Leonie was handling the horse the two were riding on, Charlie, while Hilda was getting a free ride. Leonie normally wouldn’t let Hilda ride on her steed, but after she promised to pay her tavern debts for her in Goneril’s territory, she had to give in to her demands for the time being.

“We won’t be far now. See the mountains are just up ahead,” Leonie responded. She had ridden through this path many times before, usually to try and see if she could make it back to Captain Jeralt’s grave, but the large swarms of bandits always stopped her. However, with Hilda here and possibly the others she could take down those nasty fools and bring peace back to the captain. But Leonie knew deep down that even with her there and all the bandits cleared out, Captain Jeralt might not be able to rest in piece. Their professor, Byleth now that they weren’t students anymore, had gone missing during the war. No matter how many people Leonie interrogated, from the nobles of the three lands to thieves who made a living off of stealing from the poor, she could never find any trace of their teacher. If only she had been able to keep up with the professor, maybe she wouldn’t have gone missing.

“I wanna see my dear ol’ Claude. Do you think he’ll be there?” Hilda asked. Leonie never asked what Hilda was doing during the five years the Golden Deer had been separated, but she could tell that she hadn’t seen Claude since they parted ways, and only met with Marianne and Lorenz once or twice. Since the two of them were frequent gossip buddies Hilda must have been feeling lonely during the times they were apart.

“Of course Claude will be there, he’s the one who planned the whole damn thing. If he’s not then I’m gonna be pissed,” Leonie said. She stroked Charlie’s mane as he trotted through the landscape, happy that he was able to carry two people, their supplies, and weapons.

“If he isn’t I’m going to track him down and force him to be my target for hand axe practice,” Hilda grumbled. She squeezed harder onto Leonie as she said this and it took her all her strength to pull her grip off. Hilda was definitely stronger than the last time they had met, but her foul and cunning personality was the exact same.

“I hope we can have a feast when we get there. I’m starving,” Leonie said.

“There are bandits there right? We’ll probably have to clean those guys out first. I also heard from my father that Imperial soldiers have been spotted more frequently around there so we’ll have to be careful,” Hilda warned.

“I’m guessing your father stopped coddling you as soon as you returned,” Leonie joked.

“Yes! He said that since I was sooooo strong on the battlefield and protected Garreg Mach so fervently that I’m a grown up now. Even my brother has been making me do stuff for him. That’s why I’m glad to be with you Leonie, you don’t make me work,” Hilda ranted. Leonie knew that the reason why she wasn’t making Hilda work was because of her debt, but she held her tongue before letting that comment slip.

Meanwhile on the other side of the mountains, Marianne, Lysithea, and Raphael were traveling together. Raphael had been working with Marianne’s father, Margrave Edmund, for the past year to support his sister, while Lysithea spent most of her free time making sweets and practicing magic. It was when she showed up on Marianne’s doorstep to give her a cake that the three of them were reunited again. Raphael squeezed Lysithea in a hug so hard that Marianne was worried he would break her spine.

“It’s a bit steep here Marianne, take my hand,” Raphael offered. Marianne grasped his own massive and rough hands with her small and dainty ones. He was easily able to pull her up and support her.

“Thanks Raphael,” Marianne said. She was glad to have support on this journey because she didn’t think she could make the journey by herself.

“Want me to help you up too Lysithea?” Raphael asked

“Do I look like a child to you. I can do this myself,” Lysithea grunted. Marianne didn’t think so, Lysithea was already looking pale faced and tired.

“A bit,” Raphael answered honestly. A blush appeared on Lysithea’s cheeks and she stormed up the path in front of them.

“She’s grumpy, you think she’s eaten enough?” Raphael asked.

“I don’t think that’s it Raphael,” Marianne responded. The two quietly walked besides each other, following after Lysithea.

“Will Claude be there?” Marianne asked. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Claude, she was just getting so anxious that all reason went out of her head.

“Of course! He promised us!” Raphael said with no hesitation. Marianne was glad to have Raphael by her side. His happiness was contagious enough that it was even able to lift Marianne’s spirits. However Lysithea in front of them stopped dead in her tracks.

“Promises don’t mean much. The Professor promised to help us on the battlefield and she died,” Lysithea said somberly. Raphael’s face turned into one of sadness and Marianne almost felt like crying.

“Lysithea you don’t whether the Professor is dead or not,” Raphael said sternly. That was true, they hadn’t found her body, but her being alive was hard to believe.

“She is dead. There hasn’t been a single trace of her since she disappeared during the battle. No one can stay hidden that long, she’s gone,” Lysithea had almost emotion in her voice, however Marianne knew that she depressed as well. The Professor was someone Lysithea really looked up too and constantly sought to be praised by her. Marianne shared her pain, she knew everyone in the Golden Deer did, but it was impossible to talk about it with Lysithea. Every time Marianne tried to she ended up being yelled at and Lysithea storming off.

On the western side of the mountain, Ignatz and Lorenz were heading up to the monastery, Lorenz on horseback while Ignatz walked by his side.

“You know Ignatz I do say that this pathway needs a bit of cleaning up. Ever since the war this place has looked absolutely dreadful,” Lorenz rambled. Ignatz had gotten used to Lorenz nonstop talking about beauty and noble obligations. Even if Ignatz couldn’t understand what he was saying most of the time, he simply smiled and nodded. He’d been having to deal with Lorenz for the past few weeks since he made a delivery to Gloucester territory.

“Honestly, I don’t know why we’re meeting here instead of somewhere safer. The entire place is destroyed and there’s filthy thieves crawling everywhere,” Lorenz grumbled.

“This place is nostalgic though. I couldn’t think of a better place for all of us to meet,” Ignatz replied to him. Ignatz remembered Garreg Mach fondly. He had finally been recognized by people there for his painting. He especially remembered when their professor complimented him on his painting of her. He wished he could paint her again, just once, but that dream was crushed.

“I do hope Claude is already there, and hopefully with tea prepared as well. I would love to finally rest after we made the long journey here,” Lorenz said.

“That would be nice,” Ignatz agreed. He hoped to have a nice meal with everyone else again. Raphael would often drag him from his room to come eat with the rest of the Golden Deers. Even if Claude and Lorenz ended up fighting, Raphael and Leonie flung food at each other, and Marianne tried her best to run away while Hilda grasped onto her arm tightly, they all still had fun. They let all their worries go when they talked and ate together. Ignatz wished they could return back to that time, but he also felt that something like that was far from happening.

While everyone was heading their way up to the monastery, Byleth was entering through the front gate of the church. The man in the village was right, this place was in ruins. Rubble was piled up everywhere and there were holes in the ceiling large enough that Byleth could see a considerable chunk of the sky. Why was such a ruined place like this in her memories? She carefully traversed the monastery, looking for anything that might jog her memory.

She saw a large altar that had gone to ruins and four statues that looked in serious need of repair. As Byleth looked the four of them over, two seemed prominent to her. She read the names on the plaques connected to their statues. They were labeled “Saint Cethleann” and “Saint Cichol”. Byleth didn’t recognize the names, but a feeling in her gut told her she had at least heard it before. She left the room where the statues stood and looked around some more.

She finally arrived at a staircase heading up towards a higher floor. On the post near the stairs was a golden scar tied to it. It looked very recent and Byleth thought that the person who tied this was probably still here. She slowly climbed up the stairs, fiddling with her sword as she did so. It made her feel more comfortable to hold it in her hands, she knew as long as she had it she would be safe.

As she reached the second floor, she entered a room with a balcony leading outside and a man. He had fairly tan skin and wild brown hair. He looked important, his regal and expensive clothes seemed like something royalty would wear. She hid around the corner trying not to get seen, holding her breath so she won’t make a single noise.

Claude however knew he was being watched. He didn’t see who was staring at him, but he felt their presence. He knew it wasn’t anyone from the Golden Deer, none of them have any stealth talent whatsoever.

“How about you stop hiding over there and show yourself to me. I promise I don’t bite,” he winked. The person hidden behind the entryway seemed to hesitate for a moment. He saw their foot edge around the corner and an arm swung to what could be a blade. Claude took an uneasy glance at his own holstered sword and back at the mysterious person.

Slowly, they came out of their hiding place. It took a few moments for Claude to realize who he was staring at. Byleth, Byleth was in front of him. She still had her mystical light green hair and eyes, even her armor was the same from the last time they saw each other. She looked like she hadn’t aged a day, time seemed to stop for her while it carried on for him.

His mouth dropped open and his voice was caught in his throat. What should he say? What should he do? He wanted to hug her, hold her close and never let her go again. However something stopped him from doing so. She looked like the Byleth he knew, but she didn’t seem like it. Her face was uncertain, like she didn’t recognize him.

“Teach? You okay? Did you oversleep a bit?” Claude joked. Maybe she just didn’t recognize him after he had grown. Her face seemed to show shock and she spoke up.

“Teach? What do you mean?” She asked. Claude felt like an iron ball dropped onto his stomach. He had a hard time gathering his thoughts, and an even harder time finding words. What was she talking about? Claude couldn’t think of anything. Instead of talking, his body moved for him and he reached out for her hair.

She moved back and rested her hand on the hilt of her blade, glaring at Claude. The glare told him not to get any closer, if he did then he would be on the receiving end of her blade.

“Teach? What are you doing? Byleth I-“ he was interrupted by her speaking up.

“How do you know my name?” She asked. She was slowly pulling her sword out of her sheath, the iron glinted off the sunlight pouring in through the balcony.

“I don’t get it Teach? Did you hit your head or something? It’s me, Claude.” He said quietly. His voice was quivering and uneasy. She seemed to pick up on this and let go of her sword. 

“Do I know you?” She asked. Claude felt like he got punched in the gut. He stood firmly rooted in his position, Hot he felt like he could collapse any moment.

“Don’t you remember? I’m your most trusted student,” he answered her.

“No, I don’t remember anything. And you don’t seem very trustworthy to me,” she said matter of factly. Claude just stood there, his mouth agape. Did she have amnesia? Is that why she couldn’t remember him? Did she remember anything?

“Do you at least know why you came here?” He choked out. It was getting hard for him to talk. His mouth felt like it was full of glue and he couldn’t swallow any of it.

“No, all I know is the name of this place,” Byleth answered.

“I see, at least you remembered that,” Claude said sadly. So, the promise they made together as a team, she didn’t remember anything. And the promise the two made at the Goddess Tower, he was sure she knew nothing about that as well. For the first time in his life, Claude felt true despair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I headcannon that every guy in Golden Deer had a small crush on Byleth, except for Raphael. He was too busy working on his muscles.


	3. Trying to Catch Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claude tries to give Byleth her memory back, but a group of bandits stop them from getting far.

Claude looked at Byleth for a while, it was hard to think of what to say. In the past he was a smooth talker, able to say anything to get himself out of a bind, but now he couldn’t speak. It felt like his vocal cords were paralyzed, he couldn’t even attempt to make a sound. Byleth, meanwhile had a blank look on her face. Claude remembered that look, he had seen it a dozen times before. Back when she was just starting out as a teacher, Byleth rarely showed emotion. She was the same as that old Byleth, the one who didn’t get close to others, the one who didn’t perform life changing feats, and the one who didn’t make the promise with him.

“What...should we do?” Byleth asked. Her voice had a hint of apprehension, like she couldn’t trust whatever he would suggest. But he had to say something, the silence hurt him more than anything.

“What about lunch? Personally I’m starving...what about you?” Claude suggested. He had food packed for him by his advisers, and since they worried more than his own mother, they packed enough food to satisfy a group of people. Byleth nodded, but waited for Claude to move before she did. He headed to walk downstairs and Byleth followed a few paces behind him. When they reached the downstairs area, Claude set up their meal and the two sat down together.

Claude had put a considerable amount of food on Byleth’s plate, a bit more than his. He remembered that his teacher used to eat as much as Raphael, despite the fact she wouldn’t admit it. Byleth began slowly eating the meal in front of her, watching Claude carefully. Claude tried to focus on his own food, but it hardly went down in his throat. It felt like his entire mouth was filled with paste.

“How do you know me? I want the truth,” Byleth said. She was almost done with her meal, holding the silverware in her hands like it was a weapon. Claude gave a heavy sigh, despite the fact he liked telling stories, he wasn’t too eager to tell this one. Though perhaps her memory would be reignited if she heard the story. Maybe deep down in her consciousness, she would remember something. So he told her the story, leaving out a few details here and there. He didn’t want to elaborate on any of her relationships with him or the others. It would be rough to talk about that now. All she had to know were the basics

Byleth sat calmy while listening to the story, toying with the food on her plate. Her eyes were unfocused, almost as if she were in a daze. The only time Byleth reacted was when he told her of her father’s death. Her face went from mask-like to sad, but she quickly composed herself. Finally, when Claude was done the two sat in silence for a bit before Byleth spoke.

“I remember Father. A little bit. So he’s dead,” Byleth’s voice was monotonous, almost uncaring. Claude was a bit shocked but then reminded himself that she would hardly remember her father anyways, so it’d be hard for her to care.

“Was I a good teacher?” She asked.

“Of course. I certainly never had a teacher as beautiful as you. Not to mention your battle prowess,” Claude flirted. Byleth stared at him blankly, but anger flashed in her eyes for a moment. Good to know she still reacted the same to his horrible flirting. He knew his teacher was one to stop rampant flirting. Sylvain, Lorenz, and even Dorothea learned the hard way. Luckily, if she kept the same morals, then maybe her memories couldn’t be too deep down.

“Well then, I guess it’s time for me to get to work,” Claude said while getting up.

“What are you doing?” Byleth asked.

“Well there are bandits around here trashing the place. As the leader of the Alliance, I can’t just allow that,” Claude explained.

“Let me come,”

“Why?”

“You can’t handle a group of bandits all on your own. And don’t worry. If there’s one thing I remember, it’s fighting,” she replied. Claude could only shake his head as she stood up and reached for her sword. She always rushed into battle, no matter what laid ahead of her. In a way, Claude found that part of her amazing, in another, he desperately wished she didn’t have it. Because it was that very trait that lead her rushing into the fray during the Battle of Garreg Mach and disappearing for 5 years.

“Well then, let’s head out. Oh, and don’t get in Amin’s way,” he added.

“Who’s Amin?” Byleth asked. Claude gave a little chuckle and smiled at her. He remembered fondly when he showed the monastery’s stables to her, and she came face to face with the beasts. The look on her face was something he would treasure forever, as well as the first time he had heard her shriek.

“My wyvern,” he answered.


	4. A Fight Ensues

Byleth wasn’t very excited to meet the wyvern that Claude had brought. It was large and dangerous, it’s claws razor sharp and it’s gaping maw full of teeth. She had hoped to keep her distance from it, but now she had to fight side by side with it. She was starting to regret her choice of coming here. Weird man, weirder animal, not to mention the entire monastery was covered in rubble.

“Don’t get scared now Teach! Even if you’re a bit confused I’ll still be following your orders!” Claude shouted as he climbed onto the wyvern. The animal gave a shake of it’s head in return and dug it’s claws deeper into the dirt. Byleth felt like she was about to lose her lunch, as little as it was. She had checked her sword many times, making sure it was in the right condition. Though she talked big to Claude, she was actually worried about fighting. She felt a spark when she held her sword handle but she didn’t know how she would fare in real combat.

“You’re not going to use the Sword of the Creator, Teach?” Claude asked. Byleth looked at the large sword she had tied to her back and put in a made shift sheathe. She didn’t want to touch the weird object, it gave her a horrible feeling looking at it. When she had touched it as she put it in the sheathe it pulsed under her finger tips. It seemed the same went for Claude’s special bow, Failnaught. The farther she could be from those objects, the better.

“I think I’ll just use a regular sword and magic,” Byleth answered. These were two things Byleth felt were easy for her. She could feel energy pooling at the tips of her fingers, and white sparks flitted out if she concentrated hard enough.

“Okay then. Just give me a signal if you need help. I’ll swoop in and save you,” Claude said. The idea of riding that beast he called a pet sent shivers down her spine. She would have to hold her own in this battle, unless Claude was fine with getting his wyvern blasted away as well.

Now Byleth and Claude we’re near the back entrance of the school, which was mostly in ruins. She saw bottles of alcohol and broken weapons littered on the ground. What a horrible looking place the monastery was. Claude had a look of depression before noticing Byleth was watching him.

“The thieves are here. Apparently they’re trying to run off with treasures from the monastery. But we’ll put them down Teach,” Claude winked. Byleth gave a small nod and removed the sword from it’s sheathe. The blade dimly shone in the moonlight and Byleth readied her stance. It was hard to see her enemies, large thickets and broken down buildings obscured her view. Claude’s wyvern pushed itself off the ground and headed up into the air. He stayed about 30 feet in the air, letting out loud snorts and growls. “I’ll push forward. You support me,” Byleth ordered. Claude gave her a salute and held the reins tightly on his wyvern. With a push of strength, Byleth moved her body forward and into battle. Despite the armor and weapons she was carrying, Byleth felt light as a feather as she ran. In the corner of her eye, she saw a man swing his sword towards her. Byleth blocked the blow, her heels digging into the ground as she took the weight of the bigger man. With unnatural strength, Byleth pushed the man off her and swung her sword towards his neck. The blade cut through his skin and hit his neck bone. Blood gushed out of the wound and Byleth quickly removed her sword from his cut neck. The man slumped onto the floor, shaking before finally going limp. A pang of regret hit Byleth. Her arms had moved on their own, and she barely recognized the fact that she had killed a man before he finally laid at her feet. Killing people was probably natural to her, in fact, she slowly stopped feeling anything for the dead man, but that’s what scared her more. “You okay?” Claude shouted down at her. He was playing with an arrow in his hand, twirling it around constantly. “I’m fine,” Byleth tried her best to calm her voice down. Claude looked unconvinced but he didn’t press the issue which Byleth thanked silently. She didn’t want to share her feelings with the strange man by her side. No matter how close she was to him in the past, she couldn’t easily trust him now.

Byleth continued further, running into two more bandits. An arrow whizzed above her and impaled one of the bandit’s shoulder. Calling the magic from her fingertips, Byleth shot a white light towards the two men. An explosion went off between the two of them and they fell unconscious. They’re faces became extremely pale while Byleth felt a surge of power go through her.

Finally, Byleth was able to break into a clearing and able to see most of her surrounding. In front of her was a broken down structure with large gates blocking off the entrance. Claude’s wyvern settles onto the ground next to Byleth, making her jump a few feet away.

“Looks like the leader is holding himself up in that building. There’s also a lot more of them then I originally thought. I don’t think the two of us can handle this alone,” Claude explained.

“So we’re screwed right?”

“No. Everyone should be here soon. They’re all pretty strong so I expect we can clean these guys up,” 

“Are you sure? You haven't seen these guys for five year right? How do you know they haven’t quit training?”

“I don’t think they would do that. They all work pretty hard-well except maybe Hilda- so they’ll be strong enough,” Claude smiled at Byleth and she was able to determine it was genuine. Suddenly, Claude’s eyes attention was placed elsewhere, somewhere behind Byleth. “Speaking of them, I see some coming now,” 

Byleth whipped her head around to look at her former-students-now-strangers. One was on a gallant horse with purple armor, and the other was small in frame and held a bow in his hand. A pang of familiarity hit her and she almost stumbled to the ground. Her head was starting to hurt, but she couldn’t focus on that right now. “The barbarity is even worse than the rumors. On my honor as a noble, I will expel these ruffians!” The man in purple declared. He flourished the spear in his hands and pointed it straight towards a group of bandits up ahead. The man next to him gave a deep sigh. “Today was supposed to be a happy day, but the monastery is in such disrepair...” From what she could see, the solemn man was looking at the bandits with a mixture of anger and sadness. He pulled an arrow out of his quiver and readied it on his bow. However Byleth’s thoughts were quickly cut short with shriek. “Over there...Is that the Professor! And the others!?” Turning around quickly, Byleth saw a woman with bright pink hair waving madly at her. She held a heavy looking axe in one hand and wore a large smile on her face. By her side, a woman on horseback appeared into view. Her face turned into one of shock, then surprise, and finally happiness. “Professor! You’re alive! Guess we’d better handle this before I celebrate though, huh?” She screamed in joy. Byleth thought she noticed tears trickling down the orange haired girl’s face. Whatever she was doing earlier, she then turned her gaze into one of fixed determination and readied her bow. Byleth finally noticed Claude looking down at her with a smug expression. “So? Are they strong looking enough?” Claude chuckled. Byleth thought over it. They were clearly experienced fighters and looked strong enough. She especially took notice of the pink haired girl, despite her clear attempts to look feminine, nothing could hide the muscles in her arms. “I guess they’re fine,” Byleth said. “Is this all of them?” “No, the others will probably arrive soon. No worries,” Claude said as he waved over to Hilda, who seemed caught in a bout of excitement at seeing him again. Byleth decided to leave the left and right flanks to the others,

Carrying on, Byleth followed Claude’s suggestions on where to attack, trusting his higher vantage point. Fighting had been more tiring than she expected. Her arms were getting tired of swinging her sword, her legs felt like lead, worst of all, her head was pounding. Every step she took she felt like the blood was draining from her head. However, she couldn’t focus on that right now. All she had to do was try not to die.

“We’re going to have problems clearing the back end. They’ll also run if we come to them from one side.“ Byleth said to Claude.

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that Teach,” He smirked. He pointed to the other end of the stone structure. There, from Byleth’s hazy point of view, three figures appeared.As Byleth approached she could clearly make out the figures now. Two of them were frail looking girls while one was a large man. “Professor? Is that you and everyone else?” The large man asked. “Wow! It’s you! I thought you were dead all this time!” The smallest girl exclaimed. Byleth couldn’t but feel annoyed at that little comment. “Could that be the Professor’s...ghost?” The taller girl asked. Now Byleth felt really annoyed. She decided to take it out on a bandit who tried to ambush her. Quickly cutting through his stomach, sending his intestines out of his body. He fell dead on the ground, but Byleth just felt more tension building up in her. Her headache was almost deafening at this point, almost blocking out everything. “Let’s hurry up” she almost growled at Claude. After this, maybe she could find a time to be alone for a while. So far, those had been the times she enjoyed the most. She hurried up the stone stairs, only to find a locked gate in her way. She raised her sword high and swung down with tremendous force, shattering the lock and breaking the gate open. In front of her was the bandit leader, but before she could reach him, an arrow shot through his neck. The man fell forwards, grasping his throat as blood poured out of it. Claude landed his wyvern next to her and she immediately took a few steps back. “Well...I guess that's it,” Claude said. He looked sorrowfully at the man’s body, before checking the arrows in his quiver. “Almost out, I guess it’s good we ended it when we did,” Claude continued on, however Byleth wasn’t paying attention. She had noticed a movement through the bushes to the left of her. Soon she saw a man similar to the one dead on the ground run past her. Before Claude, or even Byleth could react, she grabbed the Sword of the Creator off her back and swung it forwards. The chain-like whip extended and went straight through the man’s chest, piercing his heart. The man gave a loud grunt before collapsing on the ground. Byleth’s arm which held the sword shook. She felt the handle pulsing under her fingers, sending shockwaves up and down her body. However, the most unbearable thing was the feeling in her head. She felt overstimulated, even opening her eyes a bit hurt. “Teach, you okay?” That was all Byleth was able to make out before collapsing. Escaping into her mind, she saw faint visions playing out. She tried to reach out, and finally it felt like she had a firm grasp on one of her memories. A rush of familiarity poured through her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally reached 1000 hits! Thanks guys! If I have something important to say I’ll put the note at the beginning, however most of my end notes are just going to be random garbage that pops into my head.
> 
> I feel Claude and Hilda would be the only students to canonically get a wyvern.
> 
> Fun fact, despite the extremely small size of my school, we had archery class (well it wasn’t called archery but that’s what we did most of the time) I don’t remember everything about it, but I hope to incorporate what tiny knowledge I have of it to the story.


	5. The Bloom of a Crimson Flower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first memory Byleth can remember when she came to the monastery. A calm and calculating girl with long white hair leads her memory. Her talks of a dream and the sweet smile on her face want Byleth to see more of her.

“Hello there Professor,” a familiar voice said to her. When Byleth turned around she came face to face with Edelgard. Just after there mock battle, everyone was having a merry time in the banquet hall. Byleth had gotten overwhelmed and stepped outside for a rest.

“Hello,” Byleth responded. Her father taught her that it was good manners to greet people back, so she always did it without thinking much.

“You were great out there. I really hoped you would have chosen the Black Eagles. We’re in need of a commanding and experienced leader like you. Especially Ferdinand” She smiled. It was the first time Byleth had seen the woman wear a genuine smile on her face. Most of the time, she wore a stone cold expression on her face, and what little smiles she did have were more to keep up appearances than something that was genuine.

“You also did well, especially with taking base in that forest,” Byleth complimented. Edelgard’s smile widened a bit before standing still next Byleth. She was looking up at the stars and Byleth returned to stargazing as well. The sky was beautiful tonight, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky so Byleth could see every star clearly. As a kid, she used to pass the time by looking up at the stars and remembering the constellations. She was always fascinated when she was able to see the same constellations no matter where she went.

“I’ve always loved looking at the stars,” Edelgard said. Byleth didn’t move her gaze but she began listening to Edelgard more intently. “Even if I went places far away from my real home, as long as I could see the stars, I felt like I was right back in the palace,” Byleth was surprised that Edelgard went far away from Enbarr, she seemed like the type of person that stayed in the same place for a long time.

“Where have you been, Professor?” Edelgard asked.

“Everywhere in Fódlan, I’ve never been to Almyra or Brigid,” Byleth responded. Her father was a Fódlan only mercenary, and wherever he went, she followed.

“Really, I thought you would have at least been to Almyra. They’d love to have a warrior as strong as you there,” Edelgard was praising her strength again. However, unlike everyone else, it felt like Edelgard’s praise came from a deeper place.

“Why did you come to the Officer’s Academy?” Byleth asked.

“What do you mean by that?” Edelgard was giving Byleth a quizzical look.

“You’re the future emperor, you don’t need to waste your time fighting bandits. I would have thought you’d rather take classes on proper etiquette and how to rule,”

“I’ll have you know I have perfect etiquette and excellent leadership capabilities. But, the reason I’m here is so I can achieve my dream,” Edelgard declared. She was looking up at the stars again, a resolute face plastered on.

“And what dream is that?” Byleth couldn’t help her curiosity. After all, what dream can you achieve from going to an Officer’s Academy instead of training to become an emperor.

“I can’t tell you just yet. Maybe later if you continue to support me. The most I can say is that I want to unite people together,” She had a small smile on her lips. Byleth could tell from her eyes, that her dreams were grand. Though she wasn’t teaching her, Byleth wanted to offer some cooperation towards the future emperor.

“Hey Teach! What are you doing out here?” Claude’s shout startled both of them. He had a cocky smile plastered on his face as he strolled up to Edelgard. “Are you whining to Teach because you lost? I thought someone like you would have better manners,”

“I’m appalled that you would even suggest that. I was just having a friendly conversation with her, something you no doubt, don’t know how to do,” Edelgard answered.

“I’m hurt, really I am,” Claude feigned despair before letting out a small chuckle. Byleth wasn’t a fan of the young man’s need to provoke the other students. While they were both decent strategists, many of Claude’s suggested strategies had something to do with playing dirty. Then again, in a real battle dirty trick might just save your life.

“I’m going to take my leave, Professor,” Edelgard said. Before she left however she whispered into Byleth’s ear. “Don’t trust Claude. He’ll be the end of you if you associate with him,” And then she walked off, re-entering the celebration going on inside.

“So...what did she say to you? That I’m a charming and handsome young man? I guess she didn’t want to let her little crush get out,” Claude teased. Byleth shook her head and returned to looking up at the stars.

Then her memory cut out. She couldn’t remember what happened next, try as she might. The only thing that remained in her mind was Edelgard. Stern, demanding, and stubborn, she seemed to be distant from most others, but somewhere deep down there was a passionate young lady in her. Someone who still gazed at the stars and thought of grandiose dreams. Byleth wondered what she was doing now. She hoped Edelgard was doing well for herself. If the two met up again, maybe she could join up with her.

However, before she could think anymore she was shaken from her slumber by a yell.

“What the hell do you mean by that Claude!” She couldn’t tell whose voice it was, but they were clearly shouting in a mix of surprise and anger.

“If this is one of your jokes Claude, we’re not laughing,”

“It’s not a joke. I’m telling the truth,” She heard Claude’s voice try to quell the angry mob, but that just sent them into a larger panic. When she opened her eyes, she found herself laying in a bed, wearing her smallclothes only. At her side was the blue haired maiden she saw earlier in the battle. She was looking at the closed door with shocked eyes and seemed about ready to hide in a closet.

“Oh! You’re awake!” The girl noticed. Byleth tried to push herself up but the girl immediately put her back down on the bed. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you should be getting up now. I used a bit of white magic on you to tend to your injuries, but you passing out is a mystery to me,” Byleth thought she heard her mumble something about Mercedes being better at this. The shouting match just outside the door had gotten louder and Byleth couldn’t focus on anything else.

“Do you want anything to drink?” The bluenette asked. Byleth gave a small nod and the girl ran to the sink to get some. The shouts outside the door fell silent. Byleth wondered if Claude was whispering to them now. She wanted to hear what he was saying, but she knew that the girl in the room would stop her if she made an attempt for the door. 

The girl came back with her water and sat on a chair beside the bed. She couldn’t meet Byleth in the eyes, constantly diverting her gaze to the door or down on the floor. After a while she spoke up.

“Um, my name is Marianne von Edmund. Do you...remember me?” Marianne asked. The name hadn’t rang a bell. Everyone but Edelgard was a mystery to her. Though Marianne’s distant behavior and shyness was familiar.

“No,” Byleth gave a curt response, she didn’t know what else to do. She could see tears welling up in the girl’s eyes before she turned her head to the floor. She was stuck in silence, she wondered just what Claude was telling them. For a few minutes, Byleth could do nothing but stare at the ceiling or take a sip of water. Then she heard the creak of a door opening. Claude was alone when he walked into the room. He was wearing a gloom expression on his face, one that transferred to Marianne.

“Marianne, if you could leave us alone for a minute,” Claude requested. Marianne’s lips formed a tight line and she nodded. She hurried out of the room and closed the door behind her. Byleth was put on edge now that she was alone with him. While she didn’t trust him in the first place, after she remembered Edelgard she felt more wary of him.

“You’re in the monastery’s infirmary. I had Raphael carry you up here after you collapsed,” He took the seat that Marianne was originally sitting on. “You okay?” He asked.

“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me,” Byleth didn’t want to be worried over, especially by a person like him. She tried to get out of the bed, and to her surprise, Claude didn’t stop her.

“All the others were yelling at me, I suspected Hilda was close to tearing my head from my shoulders,” he gave a small laugh as he watched Byleth walk towards the door.

“I heard,” Byleth admitted.

“Well then, where are you going? I reckon the others would love to bother you right now Teach,” Claude smirked. Byleth felt no need to hide her intentions, unlike the man behind her.

“Edelgard,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any of y’all seen the Marianne or Bernadetta solo runs on YouTube. Who would I do a solo run for? Hilda probably.
> 
> It’s starting to get really cold. I wish I could cast magic to light myself on fire so I wouldn’t have to deal with it.
> 
> Why are the Those Who Slither in the Dark women so sexy. Kronya shows off massive underboob while Cornelia is the thickest character in Fire Emblem history.


End file.
